Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World – Vol. 16 Ch. 4

Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World. Volume. 16.

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‘Chapter 4:- NOISY TRANQUILITY.’

 
Sub-chapter 1.

The next morning, Subaru, who had woken up in high spirits, was standing in the garden as the morning sun shone upon it.

Savoring the sensation of the cobblestones beneath his soles, Subaru filled his lungs with the refreshing morning air, going “Nnn—!” as he stretched his back. The sight drew a small smile from Emilia, who was standing next to him.

“What is it, Subaru? You’re in a really good mood this morning. Did something nice happen?”

“Emilia-tan’s wavy braids are super cute this morning, so it was totally worth spending a little time on them before bed last night.”

“Is that so? I’m so glad. You kind of seemed to have something on your mind last night.”

Smiling as she made that remark, Emilia gently stroked her wavy silver hair.

Just as they’d planned it the night before when Emilia’s braids were undone, Subaru had given her silver hair a soft wave. Her normal hairstyle was cute, of course, but a beautiful girl had the special privilege of changing the accent of her charm from time to time.

Still, it was fact that he had caused so much trouble the day before. And of course he was still reflecting on his failure at the Muse Company, but this was this, and that was that.

“I’ll just have to accept it with the gravity it deserves… Beako, what’s with you this morning, pouting like that?”

“I am not pouting or anything of the sort. Would you refrain from making such arbitrary claims, I wonder?”

Averting her face, Beatrice sat on the porch as she gazed at Subaru and Emilia.

It’s nothing, she stubbornly projected, but the girl had said barely a word since waking up this morning, and on top of that, she’d been constantly glancing around in unease. Even if she said don’t worry, Subaru couldn’t help but do so.

“It’s not cute when you’re stubborn like that. If something happened, then just spell it out. It could be important, right?”

“That’s right, Beatrice. If there’s something worrying you, let’s all worry about it together. I’m becoming dependable, you know.”

“I am of a mind to object to some of Emilia’s words. But…”

Casting a suspicious look at Emilia as the girl pressed a hand to her chest, Beatrice broke down under the two’s gazes. She touched one of her hair rolls, then twirled it around her finger as she spoke.

“Actually, one of the inn staff members said something yesterday, I suppose. This employee told Betty alone that at this inn, something inhuman appears at night in a hushed whisper.”

“Ohhh, something inhuman?”

“At first, Betty laughed it off, I suppose. But just to be sure, she put her mind on guard. And then sure enough, did something not happen last night, I wonder?”

“Thump, thump…”

Captivated by Beatrice’s tale, Emilia pressed a hand to her chest as her eyes darted this way and that. From that reaction, she was really getting into it as Beatrice’s voice grew more heated still.

“In the middle of the night, Betty awoke to a strange presence. And did she gently slip out of the room, so as not to awaken Subaru as he slept with a stupid look on his face, I wonder?”

“Don’t stare at people’s faces when they’re sleeping. It’s indecent.”

“I—I was not staring! Was my glance not as light and graceful as the snow, I wonder?!”

Beatrice had just incriminated herself in a panic, but she was cute, so Subaru decided to let it pass without comment.

“At any rate, Betty pursued that presence. Then just beyond the entryway, I found the source of that aura…”

“You found it? And then what?”

“Did I confront that pale face floating in the darkness from the front, I wonder?! This face noticed Betty as well, and we entered a contest of stares… The battle continued on, one step forward and one step back!”

“A staring contest! And then, and then?”

“Oh-ho, but Betty is a Great Spirit, so the foe ultimately fled in terror, I suppose.”

“I’m so glad—what a relief. I was worried Beatrice might have died right there…”

Having gotten far too invested in Beatrice’s ghost story, Emilia’s concerns were rather exaggerated. In the first place, if Beatrice were dead, just who was the adorable creature right before them?

That said, Subaru admired the fact that the story was fairly well thought out.

“So what actually happened, Otto?”

“Er, when I was on the verge of being sick just outside the entryway, I noticed Beatrice staring daggers at me… She vanished while I was crouched and feeling miserable, however.”

It was just then that Otto entered the garden with a wobbly gait. Upon hearing the truth about last night from his lips, Beatrice muttered, “That cannot be…” in absolute shock.

It was said that fear made the wolf—or in this case, a drunken Otto—seem larger.

While Beatrice struggled to reconcile her memories with reality, Emilia tried to comfort her by stroking her head. Probably, the inn staffer who had told her about the apparition had quickly discerned that Beatrice possessed a rare and precious disposition; specifically, she was a really cute when teased character. Given the adorable red face he was looking at now, Subaru could only call this a job well done.

“Incidentally, you weren’t back for dinner last night, either, so what were you up to?”

Keeping the charming Beatrice in the corner of his eye, Subaru cocked his head questioningly as he looked at Otto’s pale face. Otto’s pallor seemed drained of blood so early in the morning as he wobbled to the edge of the porch and sat down.

“I told you before we parted ways, did I not? Since we happened to have come all this way to Pristella, I wanted to meet people with whom it would normally be very difficult to sp-eak wi—ughhh.”

“Sounds like you’re living dangerously. You seem about as drunk as the first time we met, man.”

“…In the case of Mr. Natsuki, I was not drunk when we first met, I believe?”

“If that’s what you remember, then it’s probably true. For you, at least.”

Otto seemed to have no recollection of such an event, and at present, his memory was correct. Their first meeting from Subaru’s point of view and from Otto’s point of view differed greatly in place and subsequent developments. But Subaru had no intention of trying to explain over and over the happenings during various circuits of a loop that had been lost for eternity.

Deciding to move on, Subaru shot Otto’s suspicious face a wink.

“Anyway, make sure you aren’t a bad influence on Beako, or it’ll affect her development. Well, I do understand that you were trying your best for the group, though.”

“This, I did all on my own agh— I had other reasons for doing thish.”

“—?”

“More importantly…” Bitterly twisting up his pale face, Otto scanned the garden. “I do not see Garfiel anywhere. It is unusual for him not to at least poke his face out, is it not? He is always the first to rise, howling from the peak of a mountain or something.”

“That’s because he couldn’t find any other high ground to howl from. Errr, jokes aside, he’s in a bit of a sensitive state at the moment. For the time being, be gentle if you run into him, ’kay?”

“To be perfectly honest, I wish I was the one being treated gently at the moment… Ugh, my head hurts…”

Subaru flashed a troubled smile at Otto’s Groggy status as he wobbled and crumbled down onto the porch.

“So now that Otto is here, too, what are our plans for today?”

Hugging a sullen Beatrice from behind, Emilia inclined her head and posed the all-important question. Her words made Subaru go “right…” as he touched a hand to his chin. “There’s the issue of renegotiating with Kiritaka for sure. What was the plan again, kidnap Liliana and trade her for the magic crystal?”

“Where did that drastic plan come from?! Did you really reflect on anything you did yesterday?!”

“Sorry, my smidgen of resentment toward Liliana affected my proposal.”

Subaru apologized as Liliana’s blissful face came rushing back to him, but Otto was too busy suffering from the effects of his own shouts on his hungover head to pay much attention. After moaning for a while, Otto continued with tears in his eyes.

“First of all, we are scheduled to visit the Muse Company at fire time today. I would be grateful if we could have White Dragon’s Scale mediate, however…”

The name Otto mentioned was referring to Kiritaka’s bodyguard, Dynas. White Dragon’s Scale was the name of the mercenary company he was part of, which was currently hired to serve as Kiritaka’s personal guard.

Although, in Subaru’s mind, Dynas seemed less like a bodyguard and more like a private secretary whose main purpose was to deal with the Liliana issue.

“For the time being, I must ask that Mr. Natsuki remain here. I shall accept no rebuttals.”

“Why…is what I’d like to say, but I’ll keep it under wraps. Even I know the talks will go smoother without me there…but then what’s the point of me coming to Pristella?”

“To play with Beatrice? It’s good to make as many memories with her as you can.”

“Is Betty somehow being treated lightly for some, I wonder?! I raise an objection!”

Beatrice’s indignant protests were for the most part ignored, and with that, the afternoon plans were tentatively set. They weren’t very involved plans, though; the gist was that everyone except Otto had free time.

“Well, how about I take Emilia-tan and Beako to a public park?”

“Eh? Shouldn’t I be going together with Otto?”

“Today, I am only going to obtain a promise to reopen negotiations, you see. Bringing Lady Emilia along for this type of visit would be lacking in etiquette. Having you return ahead of me yesterday was for the same reason.”

After explaining his reasoning to Emilia, Otto added, “However…” and shot Subaru a suspicious glance before continuing. “I do not know what Mr. Natsuki is scheming in citing such a reason.”

“Calling it scheming makes it sound like I’m up to no good.”

That was all he could muster. Otto was impressive as always—even his misses were still somehow on target.

Not that Subaru was actually scheming, but he did have a plan. It was a plan that relied heavily on luck, however.

“After I got off the boat yesterday, I found this really pretty park along the way. I was like, I wanna take a walk through there with Emilia-tan, with Beako in the middle and us holding her hands.”

“Wow, that sounds fun. But should we really take it easy like that? What do you think, Teacher?”

“I can hardly say no when my pupil is looking forward to it quite this much. Well, assuming he comes back before you go, at least take Garfiel with you… Just do not cause any commotions.”

“Why are you looking at me when you say that? Say that to Beako. She’s the one you want.”

“How accurate is that, I wonder? Betty is the oldest one here, so it’s fairly obvious who should lead the way.”

Mistaking what Otto was concerned about, Beatrice put her hands on her hips with a confident flourish. The way she completely missed the point was adorable, so Subaru affectionately stroked Beatrice’s head all over.

And as Subaru and company enjoyed the peaceful, friendly atmosphere—

“Yo, everyone’s together, huh? Pretty nice morning, ain’t it?”

Felt raised her hand in greeting as she stepped into the corridor.

“Morning. I was wondering this yesterday, too, but what are you reading?”

“Ahhh, I have a bet with Reinhard going. He’s gonna give me questions on what’s in the book, and I’ll answer ’em. If I don’t win this, I probably won’t be able to see Ilya next time I’m on break…”

In other words, Reinhard was using Felt’s competitive spirit to educate her, all in the name of a bet.

What a pain, said her grimace. Felt lightly hopped down into the garden. Then the royal-selection candidate pointed at Otto, who was just managing to bring himself to a sitting position.

“That green Mister wasn’t here yesterday, was he? He’s with you guys?”

“Yeah, he is. This is our domestic adviser. Well, he’s a lot like what Larry is to you.”

“I am not quite sure what you mean, but I am fairly certain you didn’t mean anything good!”

Though there was some rudeness implicit in his statement, it had introduced Otto more than sufficiently. At the end of that exchange, Felt tilted her head and asked Subaru, “Who’s Larry?”

“I mean that Lachins guy with you. They’re minor acquaintances of mine. That’s why I lovingly call the trio Larry, Curly, and Moe.”

“Heh, sounds fine to me. So Lachins, Gaston, and Camberley are Larry, Curly, and Moe to you? Has a nice ring to it—fits ’em surprisingly well!”

“I’m surprised at the miracle of what happened to me a year ago, too. Wish it was a different miracle, though.”

He raised a toast to himself for dubbing them well at the time. Incidentally, since Felt apparently liked the terminology, he raised a toast to the Three Stooges, who would continue to be known as Larry, Curly, and Moe forevermore.

“By the way…,” said Felt afterward as she glanced between Subaru and Emilia. “What’s that weird dance you’ve been doing for a while now? Playing some kind of game?”

“Hey, hey, don’t call it a weird dance. These are radio calisthenics, a completely respectable workout.”

Felt had a mystified look as Subaru explained the activity that he and Emilia were doing together. The Emilia camp had assembled at the garden that morning precisely so they could do radio calisthenics.

Regardless of whether they were on a trip or whatever their itinerary, they never missed morning calisthenics.

“Good health is the secret to a long life, so this exercise routine is beloved by everyone from little kids to the elderly. When Emilia becomes king, she’s going to make it national law to do these every morning.”

“That’s right. It feels really good to do this every morning with everyone.”

“Yeah…? If it was up to me, anyone who planned to make that public policy definitely wouldn’t get to be king…”

As she watched them go through the exercises, Felt murmured with a frown on her face.

It was sad that she didn’t see the appeal of radio calisthenics, but even if people hated the activity at first, most got used to it as time wore on. As a matter of fact, an unprecedented radio-calisthenics boom was already spreading the exercise routine from the Mathers domain to various other regions.

“Now that I think about it, I heard lots of weird festivals are spreading from that Miss’s lands. There’s some weird dance involved, playing around with hollowed-out pumpkins, and something about women baking sweets and giving them to men?”

“Right now, it’s treated as some weird custom from the boonies, but I wanna make it my project to spread these customs nationwide. On that note, it’d be nice to have someone like Anastasia cooperating when planning events and stuff.”

It was considered an open secret that the modern iteration of Valentine’s Day was a conspiracy hatched in the chocolate corporate world. In other words, a lot of money could be up for grabs, so he felt like Anastasia would pounce at the chance.

When Felt saw Subaru sink into thought with a serious look on his face, she glanced at Emilia and spoke in a quiet voice.

“Hey, is Mister always like this?”

“Yeah, Subaru’s like this most of the time. When he looks like he’s just kidding around, he’s actually thinking really hard about all kinds of things. Then again, sometimes he looks like this when he really is kidding around, too.”

“I have no idea why you sound like you’re proud of him for that.”

Felt cocked her head in puzzlement when Emilia seemed to take a strange sense of pride in Subaru’s behavior.

Every so often, when Emilia interacted with people who were ostensibly younger than her, it was sometimes difficult to tell who was actually older, which was an issue of Emilia’s mental age. This was one of those situations.

“Come to think of it, you’re all alone, Felt. Where’s Reinhard?”

“I ain’t a kid, and havin’ him around me just means I gotta listen to him fuss. Besides, not that I like admitting it, but if I call him, he’ll get here in one second.”

Judging by how Felt’s face stiffened as she said that, she probably meant it literally and not a joke. That sort of thing really drove home how extraordinary Reinhard truly was.

“But from what I saw yesterday, it seems like you learned how to get along with Reinhard… Maybe get along isn’t the right way to put it… It seems like you guys worked things out even though you had a rocky start.”

“Oh, really? I thought Felt and Reinhard got along very nicely from the start…”

“Hey, are those actual gemstones in this Miss’s eyes? You’d better polish ’em right so they see straight, ’cause I’m one scary girl when push comes to shove.”

Felt’s strangely poetic metaphor made Subaru appreciate how much education and growing she’d benefited from since they last met.

“Well, I can’t deny what Mister said about it, though. Not like I can just be irresponsible forever or anything. Now that I’ve decided I’m doin’ this with him, he’s my responsibility, so…”

“—Lady Felt, you called?”

“I did not!!”

Instantly, Reinhard emerged out of thin air.

When Reinhard suddenly appeared behind her back, Felt roared with anger at him. Her high-pitched voice made Reinhard raise an eyebrow. Then he addressed her.

“Lady Felt, it is still early in the morning. This is not my mansion, so please do not cause trouble to those around us by raising a ruckus…”

“Oh, shut up—don’t lecture me! And what’s the big deal with you anyway?! You say you’ll come in a second when I call you, and then you come when I’m not even calling at all!”

“Good morning to you, Lady Emilia. And morning to you, Subaru. A fine day.”

“Don’t ignore me when it’s convenient for you, damn it!!”

When Reinhard crisply smiled and offered a morning greeting, Subaru raised his hand in return. Furious at Reinhard’s reaction, Felt grabbed him by the collar and shook his head around.

Of course, given Reinhard’s strength, he could have easily brushed her off, but she still kept a hold of him.

“You see? Felt and Reinhard get along really well.”

“I guess you’re right. That’s a classic getting-along-nicely scene.”

“Somehow, those words are creepy enough that I could just die! I don’t like it!”

Grinning and agreeing with the smiling Emilia, Subaru smoothly ignored Felt’s shouts. Instead, Subaru looked at Reinhard as Felt was manhandling him.

He’d lowered the corners of his eyes in a consternated look, and he wore a troubled smile on his face, but the sight was so natural somehow that Subaru oddly felt a sense of relief.

Simultaneously, he had a sudden thought—these two had also spent the last year challenging the royal selection as master and retainer.

“Well, hate to spoil the lovely moment, but how about we go get some breakfast?!”

“I’m not accepting this!”

Listening to Felt’s high-pitched voice, Subaru looked up at the clear blue sky and gave a mighty stretch.

First the night before, then a morning like this—it was going to be a great day.

He had no rational basis for thinking that, but he felt confident nonetheless.

Sub-chapter 2.

“—Good morning. Oh, you all seem to be getting along rather nicely.”

Anastasia greeted Subaru and the others as they entered the reception hall, smiling mischievously as she spoke.

From her point of view, seeing the Emilia camp and the Felt camp together must have been a surprise. But Subaru was just as surprised by her greeting. The reason was the glossy outfit she was wearing.

The sight of Anastasia, wearing a different outfit with her usual scarf around her neck, made Emilia and the others go “wow” in astonishment.

“Good, good. It seems I’ve succeeded in surprising you this morning. I’m so happy.”

“That outfit is splendid. Is this what you were talking about in the bath yesterday?”

“Yes, this is a kimono. It’s like a yukata, but it takes a little longer to put on.”

Anastasia proudly twirled on the spot, splendidly putting the blue-dyed clothing on display. The dancing, falling petal pattern on it was also very charming. Subaru could only be amazed at Kararagi’s ability to reproduce it.

“So those clothes are some kind of Kararagi tradition?”

“Yes. The design of these clothes has been passed down by tailors since the era of Hoshin and is one of the few pieces of culture from that time.”

“The era of Hoshin, is it?”

Once again, this mysterious person, Hoshin of the Wastes, stood before Subaru.

Just like Subaru and Al, he was probably an other-worlder from the same homeland, summoned four centuries prior—

“Once this is all wrapped up, I really need to look into this Hoshin guy a bit…”

At this point, Subaru had no intention of complaining about the phenomenon of being summoned to another world.

He’d long since passed the stages of understanding and acceptance.

He knew neither the process of the summoning nor the goals of the summoner, but he’d accepted that the summoning was a one-way trip and that there was no convenient way to travel back.

His questions about those things were as innumerable as stars in the sky, but what Subaru wanted to know most at the moment was what kind of marks the one summoned long before him had left upon the world and what became of him. That was all.

“Lady Anastasia, you are even more beautiful this morning. I was worried that you would not allow even me to see you like this, but it seems that was a needless concern.”

“Eh-heh-heh, this was the jewel up my sleeve! The finished product only arrived in Pristella just a little while ago, you see. It was a real pain hiding it from Julius, heh-heh.”

Afterward, meeting up with Julius in the hall, Anastasia showed her clothes off to her own knight, and Julius lavished her with fawning praise, filling Anastasia with satisfaction. Then she cocked her head to the side.

“Oh? Mimi and the others aren’t with you?”

“Ricardo has not yet returned this morning while out on the business he mentioned. As for Mimi…it would seem she has been leading Lady Emilia’s retainer Garfiel all around.”

“Eh, Mimi’s with Garfiel?”

When Emilia’s eyes went wide at hearing the name of one of her own, Julius said, “Yes,” with a nod. “Garfiel and Mimi have not returned to the inn since last night. When they learned of this, Hetaro and TB ran into the city with all haste.”

“You heard about this from Joshua, and I’m only hearing about it now—that’s how I should take this?”

Anastasia put her hands on her hips, checking with Joshua, who had followed Julius in and was hiding behind his back. The words left the young man with the delicate face downcast, bowing his head with a pathetic expression.

“I—I am very sorry. I was… I desperately tried to stop them, but Hetaro refused to listen to reason. And TB was also concerned, so…”

“That’s because when Mimi’s there, Hetaro doesn’t see anything else around him. If TB’s with him, it should be fine… In his place, there is something I would like to ask of you, Joshua.”

Smiling at the cowed Joshua, Anastasia patted the young man’s shoulder as he lifted his head.

“I really had meant to entrust this to Hetaro and the others, but I want you to pick up a letter at the main gate—it’s a very, very important letter.”

As she spoke those words, Anastasia glanced in Subaru’s direction. In his mind, the suggestive gaze overlapped with the conversation in the hall the night before, spurring him to say something.

“I’m begging you, Joshua. You’re my only hope.”

“What need is there for you to ask that of me?! Lady Anastasia has already given me her instructions!”

Brushing off Subaru’s hands, which had been grasping both his shoulders, Joshua headed for the sliding screen door with rapid steps. And then—

“I shall do as instructed. Leave it to me. I shall complete it without fail in TB and the others’ stead!”

—with conviction, Joshua made this declaration to Anastasia and raced out of the hall. Anastasia gently touched her scarf when his ponytail vanished from sight.

“He really could have done it after eating breakfast, though…”

She wore a strained smile as she remarked on this youngster’s apparent loyalty and hunger for glory.

“—I am sorry that we were a tad late. It would appear we are the last ones.”

Crusch, with her long green hair all tied up this day, was the last to arrive at the reception hall. She remained dressed in a ladylike fashion, with a floral hair ornament and a white ribbon vividly adorning her green hair.

No doubt it was Ferris, appearing in the hall after her, who did the coordinating. With light steps, Wilhelm followed immediately behind Ferris, wearing his usual butler’s outfit.

The sight of the tall elderly man made Subaru’s shoulders grow tense. He recalled the many words he had exchanged with the Sword Devil under the moonlight the night before.

“”

As Subaru reminisced, it was precisely then that Wilhelm spotted him, and they exchanged gazes. Subaru’s breath caught in his throat as Wilhelm quietly greeted him with his eyes.

Subaru interpreted the message as you need not be concerned.

“So it seems we are all assembled. There are several faces missing, but still…”

“That goes for our Garfiel, too. If he’s with Mimi, that’s fine, but that harebrained son of ours…”

To be accurate, it should really be tigerbrained—but naturally, even Subaru was worried about Garfiel not returning by morning or failing to stay in touch. Perhaps he’d gone off somewhere to heal that difficult-to-shake sense of defeat.

And if Mimi really was with him, Subaru could only hope that things didn’t get out of hand in some odd fashion.

“Well, be it worries or work, it can wait until after we’ve had some food. Rohallo lost because of an empty stomach, they say.”

Clapping her hands, Anastasia invoked what seemed to be a common saying as she took her seat. Emulating her, Subaru and the others similarly sat down, divided by camp as they rested upon square floor cushions.

“Could you please bring it in?”

Seeing that everyone was seated, Anastasia called out to the people waiting behind the screens. As she did, several inn staffers brought plates in, placing them atop the long table.

The long table was quickly filled with huge black objects—only for even more iron plates to be set down.

“Today we shall enjoy some traditional Kararagi folk cooking—it’s time for a daisukiyaki feast!”

Anastasia made her pronouncement with great vigor as she swiftly rolled up her sleeves.

Everyone in attendance was surprised by how she quickly set to work as the staff swiftly placed oil upon the iron plates and then brought a cart, which had all manner of condiments in round containers sitting atop it, into the hall.

Daisukiyaki—the echo of that word, the large iron plates, the dishes… Glancing among all these, Subaru realized the true nature of the culinary tradition before him—

“—Y-you mean this is okonomiyaki?!”

Passed down in Kararagi as daisukiyaki, the Japanese dish of okonomiyaki boldly made its appearance.

Sub-chapter 3.

“Subaru, look! Look how prettily it turned over! I’m so proud of it! Eat up!”

“I suppose it came out well enough. Subaru, I went through all the trouble of frying this daisukiyaki, so you might as well eat it.”

Emilia’s face was one big smile, whereas Beatrice’s was a little shy as both served up some curious-looking daisukiyaki, which they themselves had cooked and which now sat on the iron plates before them.

“Both of you should learn to taste your own cooking before serving it to people.”

Following Subaru’s rather sound advice, the pair did as he suggested and promptly writhed in agony. Incidentally, Subaru could boast about his okonomiyaki to an extent, but he was not the most skilled in the Emilia camp.

“Lady Emilia, Beatrice, both of you can have some of what I fried. Ahhh! Lady Emilia, frying it too lightly will ruin your stomach. Beatrice, you used too much sauce!”

Thanks to Otto’s feverish efforts, the Emilia camp was at least able to secure a decent breakfast.

Glancing at the spectacle, Subaru shifted his gaze to the homemade cooking of the other camps.

“Lady Felt, I have prepared the next dish.”

“Ohhh, nicely done, nicely done. Looks like at this rate, you’re gonna be fryin’ lots. I’m pretty grateful for your skill in cooking and making sweets, gotta say.”

With the Felt camp seated directly across from Subaru, he had a front-row seat to Reinhard producing one dish of high-end daisukiyaki after another with incredible skill, before watching all the food disappear into Felt’s stomach. As over five daisukiyaki dishes had already vanished into thin air, where Felt stuffed them into her tiny body struck Subaru as one of the deeper mysteries of life.

“Now, now, now, now, now, now—! This is some real, genuine daisukiyaki I whipped up!”

But of course, Anastasia had put on quite a performance given her deep knowledge of daisukiyaki. She’d raced between two separate frying pans, successfully creating two hunks of what appeared to be charcoal.

It was a valuable life lesson. Enthusiasm alone wasn’t enough.

“As expected of you, Lady Anastasia. However, I prefer it when the frying time is a little briefer. Though it pains me to add to your time and trouble…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, leave it to me. For a boy, you sure have a delicate tongue, Julius.”

Unlike Subaru, who urged the cooks to eat their own food and repent for their culinary sins, Julius ate the hunks of charcoal without complaint and only after finishing every last bite did he suggest improvements. Truly, his demeanor toward his liege was chivalry itself. Subaru had absolutely no desire to follow suit.

“Ahhh, Lady Crusch—! Ferri fried a pretty one. Here, here.”

“Why, yes you have. But I shall not be defeated. Ha-ha, behold.”

Yes, it was Crusch and Ferris who were involved in relaxed, flirtatious same-sex bonding. That didn’t properly describe their relationship, but this was typical for them, so Subaru decided it would be prudent to not intrude.

Either way, as befit their impressive dexterity, the daisukiyaki on their iron plates were remarkable—Ferris had even taken the time to give them kitty ears.

“Fwoo. Okay, it’s time to make you eat Ferri’s daisukiyaki made with love. Lady Crusch, please open your mouth and say ahhh.”

“Eh, eh? Um, errr…a-ahhh…”

Thanks to the tender rich-girl aura Crusch gave off, Subaru got the distinct feeling that he should stop watching. Off to the side of that pinkish scene, Wilhelm was working on his own daisukiyaki, but—

“Mmm…”

Turning over the pieces, the Sword Devil groaned as they broke apart and clung to the iron plate. They had probably been left to cook for a bit too long; Wilhelm seemed to be exhibiting unexpected clumsiness.

“I feel like I’m seeing something I was never meant to see. But that being the case… Er.”

“Hey, Mister, what you fried looks pretty tasty.”

Right as Subaru thought he’d offer Wilhelm a helping hand, Felt cut him off. Her eyes glimmered as she gazed at the Puck-shaped daisukiyaki that Subaru had fried with his own two hands.

“Nah, I’m sure your guy can cook palace-chef-level daisukiyaki on an industrial scale already. Not that I know if palace chefs actually make daisukiyaki…”

“Well, you have a point, but sometimes, you just wanna eat something different, right? Even though he’s cooking on an iron plate like this, everything that bastard makes comes out elegant…”

“Then, Felt, why don’t you try the daisukiyaki I ma…?”

“I’m talking about eating food here. Why don’t you go and play with the little shrimp over there, charcoal-burner?”

Emilia, finally getting the charcoal-maker treatment, slinked over to Beatrice so she could commiserate with the glum spirit. Subaru wore a concerned smile when he saw how dejected they were.

“Hey now, don’t tease my Emilia-tan and my Beako like that.”

“So not just the Miss but the little shrimp, too… Oh right, that’s right!”

Quickly sidestepping Subaru’s reply, Felt proceeded to lean toward him.

“Hey, I thought I’d come out and ask. I heard some amazin’ rumors about you, Mister. So be real with me: How many of those things are lies?”

“Come on—don’t assume most of it is lies from the very start. It almost sounds like that’s what you’re hoping for.”

“But there’s no way I can believe all that stuff. I mean, I heard Mister sliced the White Whale in two all on his own, smashed the Witch Cult with his bare fists, turned the Great Rabbit into fried rabbit…and ate it!”

“The info sorta, kinda matches, but there’s a lot of chaff mixed in, damn!!”

If Subaru could manage that all by himself, he’d have been made a national hero or even become king by now. He would have just taken the throne by force and made Emilia his queen so they could flirt forever.

“—Hmph.”

But Subaru’s strong wisecrack was greeted by a slight chuckle from off to the side—from a pair of voices at that. The voices belonged to none other than Julius and Wilhelm.

“—? Why are Mr. Finest and Grandpa laughing? Did I say something funny?”

“It’s not just that you said something funny; it’s that the whole situation’s hilarious. Everything you mentioned rates my contributions way too high. Like, at that point just gimme a Nobel Peace Prize.”

He didn’t actually know what winning a Nobel Peace Prize entailed, but at any rate, it was what came to mind when he thought of respectable commendations.

Subaru had been recognized at the honors ceremony, but because he didn’t really have a firm grasp of how much that was worth, he had little grasp of exactly how his achievements had been graded.

It was then that Wilhelm picked up where Subaru and Felt’s conversation had left off.

“Not at all. Where the hunt of the White Whale was concerned, Sir Subaru’s contributions were incalculable. Without Sir Subaru, my long-cherished desire would never have been fulfilled. I swear this to be true upon my very sword.”

“It is the same with the Witch Cult incident. That victory was over and done and thanks to none other than his leadership. The assistance that others as well as I had provided were not contributions worthy of boasting about.”

Wilhelm and especially Julius’s blunt assessments left Subaru at a loss for words. After, what belatedly arrived was ferocious heat. Subaru’s head and ears were burning from embarrassment.

“C-cut it out, guys! Don’t put me on a weird pedestal like that! You all know what shameful shit I get up to when I get full of myself!”

“The results of your efforts after that more than made up for your own shame. There is no need for you to dwell upon that moment forever. Your future exploits are completely separate and should be greeted with pride.”

“What you have accomplished are things no one else has ever done before. Until my final days, I shall take pride in having galloped across the battlefield alongside you.”

“—Ah.”

Killed by praise.

Up to that point, Subaru Natsuki had died over and over. But this was the first time he had glimpsed death in such a frightening manner. Subaru was learning what it meant to be slain by praise.

He felt so embarrassed that he honestly thought he might die at any moment. Subaru looked in search of aid toward Emilia, then Beatrice. However, the pair merely offered him adorable smiles with Subaru sandwiched between them.

“That’s right. Subaru worked really hard. I’m truly proud, and happy, to have made that Subaru my knight.”

“W-well, is that not all a matter of course for Betty’s partner, I wonder? If anything, the surrounding rabble have been slow to realize just how incredible Subaru is.”

He never dreamed their support would be so unanimous. The frightening degree of indulgence was making Subaru’s head spin.

And there was not a single person in the hall who refuted these assessments. Indeed, the gazes turned toward Subaru were gentle and kind, one and all—

“Looks like a lot of stuff happened, but Mister’s nature ain’t changed a bit. What a relief.”

“Oh, shaddap! Hey, everyone, don’t praise me too much! You’re gonna make me like every one of you!!”

When Felt neatly tied things up like that, Subaru’s voice exploded as he neared his limit.

Instantly, the gentle atmosphere in the great hall was shattered as the voices of all present burst into laughter.

“”

Amid that uproarious laughter, Subaru snuck a glance Wilhelm’s way.

Subaru hadn’t aimed for it, but the atmosphere in the hall was remarkably good. Even with careful planning, it would have been difficult to create a moment better than this for bridging gaps and creating mutual understanding.

“Mm.”

Abruptly noticing Subaru’s gaze, Wilhelm lifted an eyebrow. Subaru used his eyes to indicate the broken-up daisukiyaki by Wilhelm’s hands, then motioned with his chin—toward Reinhard.

Realizing the import of the gesture, Wilhelm quietly drew in his breath.

Beside him, Reinhard was mass-producing daisukiyaki for Felt’s sake once more. The gap in skill between grandfather and grandson was like the distance between the clouds and mud, which was exactly why Subaru thought that this could be a turning point.

Wilhelm’s blue eyes grew unsteady as he wrestled with the complex emotions warring within him over and over—gloom, reluctance, hesitation, indecision.

But Wilhelm would surely overcome them all, taking a step forward and—

“—Citizens of Pristella, good morning to you. The morn feels wonderful, does it not?”

That was the moment they heard a voice coming from outside the inn—no, it was coming from the very sky itself. Emilia and the others’ surprised reactions made it plain that the sudden voice was no private hallucination.

“Ohhh? The heck is this? Some bastard out there has a super loooud voice.”

“Oh, Felt, of course not. This happens each morning in this city… This is a metropolitan-government broadcast using a metia.”

“A metia broadcast…”

After Anastasia replied to Felt’s carefree murmur, Subaru mulled the explanation over under his breath.

Metia was a general term for a magic item put together with some kind of magical technology. Some of the objects, such as the one being employed for the broadcast, functioned much like technology back in Subaru’s original world.

He guessed that this metia worked like a bullhorn or a speaker system.

“There is a broadcast every morning? For what purpose?”

“I have heard it is preparation for emergencies. Given the construction of the city, there are very few evacuation routes available, so people familiarized them with broadcasts in hopes of avoiding a general panic in case of a real emergency.”

“Hmm, I see meow. Very logical.”

Julius’s comprehensive explanation left Crusch and Ferris impressed. Subaru was equally impressed. This was the first time he’d heard of anyone treating a metia as genuinely useful and a critical part of a city’s infrastructure. As far as he knew, there was virtually no precedent of using metia for practical purposes. Conversation mirrors just barely made the cut, and even these seemed to be almost exclusively possessed by the Witch Cult, leaving him with a poor impression.

But that impression vanished in an instant. He simply chalked it up to strange timing that he hadn’t heard of this before.

“Incidentally, Mr. Kiritaka is both the broadcaster and the provider of the metia.”

“Eh?”

With not a shred of ill will on his face, Otto added to the static in Subaru’s mind.

Subaru sank into thought for several seconds. The back of his mind flipped through his memories of Kiritaka like a revolving lantern.

“No way.” “Could anything be more impossible, I wonder?” “Oh, Otto, you can be so funny sometimes.”

“I can understand Mr. Natsuki and Beatrice, but even Lady Emilia?!”

Subaru and Beatrice’s conclusion and Emilia’s laughter left Otto dumbstruck. During that time, the broadcast continued, and certainly, words from a somehow familiar voice were reaching every part of the city.

Of course, Subaru had heard from people over and over just how capable and respected Kiritaka was, but the impression he had from directly meeting the man loomed far larger in his mind. The appraisals and the real thing simply didn’t match up. Even this broadcast seemed—

“And this morning, too, I offer this trifling… Nay! I shall grant you all a wonderful blessing! It is time for Ms. Liliana the Songstreeeessss!”

“Ah, it’s totally him.”

The tension snapped midway as Subaru’s memories and the broadcast suddenly aligned.

In fact, he—no, they had interfered in what would have been a historic moment. That was hardly their fault, but Subaru was already pinching Kiritaka’s cheeks in his own mind.

There was a noise of the broadcast metia being passed around, and then they heard a tiny throat-clearing sound.

“Hi, everyone, it’s Lilianaaa. Being treated like a songstress is a burden as heavy as a mountain, but as I truly want to delight you with my singing and music, please support me with your joyous cheers during our brief time together—!”

Liliana’s voice reverberated so vividly across the city, Subaru could picture exactly what kind of pose she was making.

Instantly, expectant looks sprang up all around; in particular, Emilia, Beatrice, Anastasia and company’s faces were bright, knowing full well just how wonderful Liliana’s singing voice was. It was probably only Subaru who had a somber, clouded expression among all of them.

Mysteriously, Kiritaka’s voice had sounded a bit odd over the metia, but Liliana’s seemed to have no problem coming through. This was probably due to differences in speaking and compatibility with the metia.

Or perhaps Liliana’s voice truly had been blessed by some goddess of song.

Then when they heard Liliana ready her musical instrument, expectations in the hall swelled even more—

“Now, I shall sing. Please listen—this is the ‘Love Song of the Sword Devil,’ the second act.”

“Wha—?”

The song was beginning as Subaru almost commented aloud on her selection.

The broadcast carried the beautiful melody throughout the entire city, seemingly straight to their hearts. Engulfed by the music and the singing voice, Subaru only had ears for the “Love Song of the Sword Devil.”

Liliana really was a star-crossed songstress—but for all her character flaws, she had a truly magnificent singing voice.

Sub-chapter 4.

A conflicted atmosphere coursed through the reception hall as the reverberations of the “Love Song of the Sword Devil” lingered within the city.

The word incredible was nowhere near sufficient to describe Liliana’s song. As a matter of fact, had there been no other issues, Subaru would surely have gone straight to showering Liliana’s song in praise and immediately diving into conversation about it.

There was only one issue—she had selected the “Love Song of the Sword Devil.”

It was the tale of the Sword Devil, a man enamored with the sword and the one who pursued the Sword Saint. This was nothing short of the heroic tale of Wilhelm in his youth, the tale of how he and his deeply beloved wife came to meet.

In other words, thinking back to Subaru’s conversation with Wilhelm the night before, this song could not have had worse timing…at least for Wilhelm, who continued to harbor feelings for his wife that had not diminished even one iota.

Of course, there were none in the hall unfamiliar with Wilhelm’s relationship to the “Love Song of the Sword Devil.” Even Emilia’s cheeks hardened; even Felt’s face was grave.

Accordingly, Subaru turned a gaze of concern toward Wilhelm, who was surely feeling considerable heartache—

“”

The forthright look that had returned to his blue eyes, like a lake without a single ripple disturbing its surface, made Subaru unconsciously draw in his breath.

For a single instant, Wilhelm nodded toward Subaru’s black eyes. Then he slowly turned to his left, where his young red-haired grandson was seated.

“—Reinhard.”

As if to slice the concerns as well as Subaru and the others around them away, Wilhelm carefully spoke that name aloud.

Reinhard opened his eyes wide as he looked at Wilhelm. In turn, Wilhelm received Reinhard’s gaze head-on.

A silence fell between the pair— No, it enveloped the entirety of the reception hall.

Expressions of urgency came over everyone as they sensed that a fateful conversation between grandfather and grandson was imminent. Within the room, the only sound was that of the daisukiyaki already frying atop the hot iron plates.

And while it was still unclear whether the silence had lasted for an instant or the span of several breaths—

“You see…”

“Yes, what is it?”

“…I am not frying this very well. If there is a knack to this, could you teach it to me?”

That was what Wilhelm said with curt, halting words.

Just how much courage did Wilhelm summon to spit those words out? Subaru had some idea. Apparently, Crusch and Ferris recognized this as well, being as wide-eyed as he.

From the side, Subaru watched complex emotions ripple across Reinhard’s face as he listened to his haggard grandfather’s words.

Reinhard closed his eyes in sorrow, or perhaps some undefinable emotion, then swept it away with a deep breath. From there, he slowly relaxed and said—

“—Yes. I understand, Grandfather.”

As the tension palpably drained from his eyes and mouth, there was no longer any doubt that he was smiling.

This was not the hero’s smile that Reinhard used to set people at ease on a daily basis. This was an expression that only belonged to the young man named Reinhard, not the Sword Saint.

Wilhelm was taken aback. Then he slowly lowered his head.

He couldn’t immediately accept it. However, even if it didn’t seem real at first, a connection had surely been made.

The long, deep chasm that had opened up between the pair, between grandfather and grandson, might still require as much time to fill as it had taken to dig it. But now that they had bridged that gap once, all there was to do now was fill it with acceptance.

Tracing that future in his mind, Subaru, feeling a flood of emotions, tightly clenched a fist.

After all—

“—Oh, no you don’t, Father. Isn’t it too convenient to pull that after all this time?”

Suddenly, a red-haired man opened the screen door and peered into the hall.

The sheer malice in his words stunned Subaru, who forgot the very passage of time in his shock.

Sub-chapter 5.

The greatest of moments had been ruined in the vilest way possible.

The red-haired man’s action could be considered a type of evil—no, it was cruelty.

A faint whiff of alcohol wafted from this flushed man as he stroked the stubble on his cheek. A repulsive smile came over him. His age seemed to be around forty, give or take.

The reason these little gestures and askew grooming instilled even greater disgust than necessary was because his outward appearance was fundamentally handsome. It was a striking rejection and sullying of beauty.

The deep-rooted sense of malice from the tall man’s appearance was making Subaru sick.

“…Who the heck are you?”

“Aaahhh?”

As all the others in the hall held their tongues, Subaru was the first among them to raise his voice. He moved a hand behind his hip, grasping hold of something as he made a threatening sound, blood rising to his head in indignation.

That moment, everyone should have been wishing for reconciliation between the awkward pair. Subaru felt nothing but anger for the man who’d interfered.

His friend and the man he admired were making progress on repairing their relationship, until—

“Answer me. Who the hell are you?”

“…Those’re some nasty eyes ya got there, brat. You got any idea who you’re picking a fight with, huh, greenhorn knight?”

“Don’t make me laugh. You’re the one picking a fight. I’m just taking you up on the offer.”

Subaru stood up then and there, finally approaching his limit.

Beside him, Beatrice quietly sat, putting her hand within easy reach of Subaru. His reliable partner approved of the flames of anger welling up in Subaru’s heart.

Looking down at Subaru, the man had an annoyed look on his face as he raggedly scratched his head.

“What a noisy brat. Hey, Sword Saint, Julius, or hell, even Argyle—cut this rude brat down.”

Pointing at Subaru with his scratching hand, the man ordered Reinhard and the others in a casual voice. Subaru could only interpret his arrogant statement as contempt for all three.

This time, Subaru seriously made ready to swing his arm and smack the man across the face—

“I must object.”

—but just before he could act, Julius held Subaru’s shoulder in check, forcing him to stop.

Julius, who had risen at some point, stood directly to Subaru’s right while grasping his shoulder. Turning to glance at Subaru, he set his jaw firmly. Then he glared at the red-haired intruder.

“Currently, I, Ferris, and Reinhard are on special duty and relieved from our normal responsibilities. Accordingly, even the vice captain does not possess command authority over us at the moment.”

“Right, right. Ferri is Lady Crusch’s servant both in name and fact right meow. So I cannot obey your command.”

Seizing the opportunity provided by Julius’s assertion, Ferris hugged Crusch’s arm as he gave his irreverent reply. Crusch was momentarily surprised to find her knight wrapped around her, but she immediately looked at the man with a sober expression.

When Subaru looked around, the other people in the room had similar expressions as they drew close, making no attempt to hide their hostility toward the interloper.

Of course not. This was the man who had wrecked the reconciliation between grandfather and grandchild that everyone had been watching with bated breath.

“Hey, hey. What a scary lot. Obviously, that was a joke, so don’t get all worked up over nothing. Even if I am a vice captain in name only, I’ll uphold the rules of the knighthood at least.”

“In name only…?”

Subaru knit his brows at the word choice of the drunkard with a thin smile on his lips. Hearing Subaru’s murmur, the man shot him another gaze of ridicule.

“That’s right, in name only. I am none other than Heinkel the Idle, the despised, ornamental vice captain of the royal guard of the Kingdom of Lugunica.”

“Don’t get passive-aggressive with that idle and despised stuff.”

“Gah-ha-ha! It hurts my ears to hear that. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much, I can’t stand it…so shut your mouth, damn brat.”

“—!”

The gloom and darkness brimming in those eyes sent a chill running down Subaru’s spine.

This wasn’t the same fear he felt when confronting a powerful being, such as the White Whale or a Witch. No, this was a separate, more personal feeling of revulsion.

“Calm down, Subaru. You mustn’t get caught up in the vice captain’s rhythm.”

As Subaru drew in his breath, Julius addressed him. The words made the man—Heinkel—shoot Julius a somber smile.

“Ha! That’s the Finest of Knights for you. Such refined conduct and careful choice of words. If those actually amounted to real power among knights, you’d have a proper following of your own.”

“I am honored that you would praise me so, Vice Captain Heinkel… Incidentally, what business brings you here on this occasion? According to memory, the vice captain should have been assigned the duty of garrisoning the Royal Palace in the capital.”

“Such graceful sarcasm. The castle’s security won’t be affected due to my absence, especially with the great Captain Marcus taking care of it…and it ain’t like there’s a royal family to protect now, is there?”

“Heinkel!”

It was Wilhelm who rose and shouted in anger at Heinkel’s statement, which, considering the place, was insolent to the extreme. The Sword Devil had an incredible look on his face as his lips openly trembled.

“Heinkel…”

“I heard you the first time. I’m not old enough to be hard of hearing yet. Well, just let that slide as the ramblings of a drunk. More importantly…”

When Wilhelm raised his voice, Heinkel shrugged with an innocent look on his face. Then he surveyed the interior of the room with eyes just as blue as Wilhelm’s.

“Not inviting me to the celebration for the hunt of the White Whale… What’s the big idea? How cold and callous can you be? It’s a big job that took over ten years to complete. I had just as much right as anybody to join the celebration and share in the happiness. Ain’t that right, Father of mine?”

“Heinkel, I…”

“Reinhard! You feel the same way, don’t ya?”

“”

Adopting a face oozing with malice, Heinkel dug right into Wilhelm’s heart.

The old man’s expression registered pain as if he was being sliced with a blade, but Heinkel cared not. His voice interrupted Wilhelm’s protest, directing his malice toward its next destination: Reinhard.

Those words made Reinhard, who had maintained his silence to that point, finally meet Heinkel’s gaze.

“Thanks to Father, the burden on your shoulders got lighter, didn’t it? This is your magnificent grandfather, the man who avenged his wife, my mother, and your grandmother. You didn’t even say one word about him doing a good job, did you? After all…”

Breaking off his speech, Heinkel smeared a healthy dose of poison onto his blade of words. Then he spoke again.

“…he’s the one who avenged the predecessor you let die, isn’t that right?”

—This man’s face, more than any other Subaru had ever seen, deserved to be called…repulsive.

Heinkel’s words, his face, his demeanor, his voice, his gaze—every single thing emanating from his entire existence was drenched with nothing but malice.

This was a man of pure contempt, a man whose repulsiveness was his reason for being.

“Stop this, Heinkel! You… Even for you, this is…!”

“Stop trying to pretty it up after all this time, Father. You don’t have any right to criticize me. After all, the first one to scold Reinhard for killing his predecessor…was none other than you.”

“—!”

Heinkel’s words were like a curse craftily brewed by distilling all the hatred in the world. And the content of those words was a denunciation Subaru could not bear to hear.

The guy was spouting nothing but lies. It was wrong. It was false. It was obviously made-up.

It simply couldn’t be. And yet, neither Reinhard nor Wilhelm…

“”

Neither of them opened their mouths to deny it.

Why? All they had to say was one word: no. If they swept it all away as made-up garbage, Subaru would believe them without any doubt whatsoever.

His friend in arms and his respected mentor versus a drunken excuse of a man—there was no need to anguish over whom to believe.

That was why Subaru desperately wanted the two to speak the one word that would make this all go away.

“Gone quiet ’cause the truth’s inconvenient for ya? That’s how it’s been for fifteen years. Father hasn’t changed one bit, either. If he hasn’t changed, no way we’re patching things up. You think Theresia van Astrea would allow something as simpleminded as that?”

Silence descended upon the hall as Heinkel’s curse persisted.

The name he invoked was that of Wilhelm’s wife and Reinhard’s grandmother—

“—My dead mother has cursed us, all three generations of Astreas. We’re not allowed forgiveness.”

The man called the prior Sword Saint, Theresia…his mother.

That made him Reinhard’s father and Wilhelm’s son.

“Heinkel van Astrea…”

Saying the name aloud, Subaru could feel its weight.

He’d grasped who Heinkel really was. There was no mistake; the man before him carried the name of the Astrea family line—even though his character was nothing like the Astreas whom Subaru knew.

“Don’t add van to it, brat. I never got the sword name. It’s Heinkel Astrea.”

Overhearing Subaru’s troubled murmur, Heinkel clicked his tongue.

In an instant, pain appeared on Heinkel’s face. Perhaps this was simply the first time he had allowed it to be seen since he’d arrived. Now pain ran through his eyes, which had held nothing but dark delight when he disparaged his family earlier.

Thinking that this did not amount to consolation of any kind, Subaru instantly cut it aside, but—

“So what is it you came for?”

“Emilia?”

Everyone in the hall who had witnessed Heinkel’s various words and actions received a jolt.

The first among them to come forward and pose that question was none other than Emilia.

The girl stood in front of Subaru, her silver hair billowing down her back as she voiced a soft-spoken anger. Subaru could keenly feel on his skin that her ire was genuine.

She always became upset when others were hurt for no good reason.

When she watched Reinhard and Wilhelm get hurt, it had roused her anger.

“…Well, well, so this is Lady Emilia. I’ve heard the rumors. You’re apparently some kind of poor little half-demon princess burdened with a battle she can’t possibly win.”

“I’d like to discuss with you what you think of me at a later point, but I am not speaking of it now. I have only one question. Why have you come here?”

His provocative statement was meant to ridicule Emilia, but Heinkel looked taken aback when his effort backfired.

Subaru understood why the other camps within the room were shocked by Emilia’s bold demeanor. Considering how Emilia had acted the previous day up to this morning, of course they were surprised by the dramatic change.

This was why she pretended to be scatterbrained to conceal her true nature…is what some might believe, but that would be a lie. This was simply the kind of person she was.

“Everyone is gathered here because they were invited by Anastasia. But for everyone to be here at once is already coincidence, and I do not think you would simply happen to plan a visit at a time like this. That’s doubly true for someone who’s a high-ranking member of the Knights of the Royal Guard. What is the meaning of this? Tell me.”

“Tch, she ain’t like the rumors at all…”

“Answer properly.”

Heinkel clicked his tongue and furiously scratched his head—clear signs that Emilia was overwhelming him.

Emilia was angry, but in no way did she resort to a show of force. Her formidable presence was thanks to the indomitable spirit she possessed, not the overwhelming store of magical energy she was emanating.

“Wow, you stormed in all full of yourself only to get shut up by one chick glaring at ya, huh? Hey, Pops, that’s really uncool of you.”

“You have a point. If he wanted to entertain himself with amusing conversation, he should have gone to watch the Songstress. The stories there would have been much funnier and more bizarre.”

“My, is that so? Then this uncouth individual should leave and by all means spend some time together with the oft-rumored Songstress.”

“—!”

Backing Emilia up, Felt, Anastasia, and Crusch all chimed in.

Just as Emilia had done, the three other royal-selection candidates lashed at the boorish interloper with the sheer intensity of their commanding presence. Feeling the pressure coming from all four, Heinkel’s cheek twitched.

It was almost as if…he was unworthy of standing on this stage. Compared with the people who had earned their right to be there, the gap between him and them was yawning indeed.

“Are you satisfied, vice captain? If you have no other business, I believe it would be mutually beneficial for you to depart from this place as soon as possible.”

Julius made that suggestion as he beheld the contrast between the color of Heinkel’s face and the rising temperature from the women.

In one sense, he was offering Heinkel a lifeboat. The thought crossed Subaru’s mind that if possible, Heinkel’s spirit should be broken then and there, but he wanted to avoid dragging out this conversation.

He didn’t want to have Heinkel in the same room as Reinhard and Wilhelm any longer.

“Ughhh…”

“Vice captain, your decision. If possible, it would be best for all sides to refrain from speaking of this any fur…”

“—That will not be necessary, commoner.”

The voice that called out was uncommonly charming, filled with the arrogance of one who looked down upon all others as a matter of fact.

The stunning voice compelled the hearts of anyone within earshot to submit and imposed the speaker’s absolute sense of superiority on them, completely overwriting their perceptions of worth and value.

Everyone in the hall shifted their eyes toward the closed screen door behind Heinkel.

Already, not a single person paid Heinkel any more attention. Perhaps that was because their attention was gathered solely upon the sunlike heat approaching from beyond the threshold. And then—

“It would seem that the riffraff have been assembled. Marvelous. You have prepared a place suitable for my personal attendance. For this, and this alone, I commend you.”

Her cleavage was provocatively exposed. She was clad in a dress as red as blood. Her arms were wrapped around her chest, propping up her substantial breasts and freely baring her lustrous skin while she flashed a sultry smile.

Her crimson eyes seemed to set all aflame. Her gaze seemed to make sport of everything. Her enchanting charisma was bewitchment made manifest, ready to enthrall every male in the world and make them her slaves.

Beyond a certain point, beauty could become violence. Her very existence was the embodiment of those words.

And her name was Priscilla Bariel.

With this, the fifth and final candidate for the royal selection had arrived, apparently uninvited, to the feast.

Sub-chapter 6.

“I must say, however, you certainly are holding this event in a remote place. It was highly inconvenient locating suitable transport to cover such a distance. Well, the sights of the city and the odd structure of this inn do suit my tastes.”

Concealing her lips behind a crimson fan, Priscilla snickered as she surveyed the hall.

The people shocked by her sudden appearance could not muster a response to her statement. Seeing this, Priscilla knit her shapely brows in displeasure.

“What is with this poor reaction, when I have bothered to walk here with my own two legs? Is it not proper custom to touch your heads to the floor and greet my arrival with deeply moved tears?”

“…Where do you get off acting like a big-shot princess? A scene like that would only happen in a dictatorship.”

“Mmm?”

Subaru had unwittingly interrupted Priscilla’s self-centered dictum. Overhearing his murmur, Priscilla inclined her head and gazed squarely at Subaru with her red eyes.

“…Who might you be? This is a room for fools ignorant of their station attempting to compete with me for the throne. Why is a vulgar peasant such as you mixed in among them?”

“Is she serious?”

Subaru dejectedly slumped at the genuine, threatening disdain trained toward him.

She gave no sign that this was a joke, nor any hint of sarcasm or ridicule. In other words, it was just what it seemed. Priscilla was completely unaware of Subaru’s very existence.

The way they had met ought to have left something of an impression, but she’d already forgotten him entirely.

“Hey, Princess. Even for you, isn’t that horrible? Maybe he doesn’t stand out to a princess like you, but to me, this bro of mine is plenty interesting, okay?”

Then as if to split asunder the terrible, stagnant pall hanging over the hall, a voice casually called out to Priscilla.

The voice was fairly muffled and was accompanied by a faint metallic clinking. A lumbering noise came in from the corridor as a one-armed man appeared to stand at Priscilla’s side.

The man’s head was covered in a pitch-black steel helm, with the rest of him clad in crude clothing that had a rustic, bandit chic to it. This was Al, both Priscilla’s retainer and a man in the same position as Subaru—he had also been summoned from another world.

Al, who was naturally traveling with his liege, wearily shrugged in Priscilla’s direction.

“Come on, you remember, right? This is the guy who seriously shamed himself in front of a massive crowd when Princess and the others declared their beliefs back at the castle. That’s this bro right here. You grabbed your belly and laughed a ton, didn’t you?”

“I have no memory of such a thing. In the first place, would I ever do something as tactless as grasp my belly and laugh? Do not confuse nobility such as mine with that of these country bumpkins. Next time, I shall remove your head from your shoulders, Al.”

“Well, there you have it, Bro. Sorry, I just can’t cut it. You’re gonna have to work hard and raise your affinity points up from scratch again.”

“You had a whole year, so you could’ve raised your speech ability a little bit more, damn it!”

Al apologized to Subaru as he swiftly gave up on trying to remind his liege of their first meeting. The frivolous way he went “sowwy, sowwy” felt like he hadn’t changed one bit in the last year, leaving Subaru with little to do but sigh at the steadfast master and servant.

“Being able to change like you is the privilege of the young, Bro. An old guy like me can’t do that, no, sir.”

“Man, I was just about to revise the rankings on my do not turn into adults like these list—though some exceptions apply.”

In contrast to Al’s flippant tongue, Subaru ended his reply by glancing Heinkel’s way. The man, completely abandoned as everyone’s attention went elsewhere, shot Priscilla a servile smile.

“You’re late, Lady Priscilla. My liver was freezing, wondering if you’d ever show up…”

“Do not chirp at me, commoner. If I command you to dance, it is your duty as a commoner to dance until I command you to cease or until your demise. Should you misunderstand this and seek to ‘correct’ me, your death for your conceit shall be neither brief nor painless.”

“Ghhh…”

Heinkel’s face had momentarily brightened at the prospect of turning things around, but Priscilla’s sharp tongue-lashing shut him up. But Subaru raised his eyebrows as the pair’s conversation made him harbor suspicions.

“Priscilla, is he with you?”

“…Who granted you permission to address me without title, vulgar peasant? Even though I am as generous as a compassionate mother, it is quite limited in regards to such behavior coming from anyone but a child.”

“Princess.”

Al called out to Priscilla as she shot a cruel look toward Subaru. The whiff of supplication contained in his voice caused Priscilla to close one eye and let out a sigh.

“I know not why, but my servant has taken a rather odd liking to you. I will refrain from removing even a single layer of skin off your head, so you should thank Al— No, you should revere me. I shall overlook your impertinence this once.”

“…I’m grateful for your enormous generosity. Now answer my question.”

“Whether this commoner is with me or not, was it? In that case, you assume correctly. It is precisely that. I summoned him and dispatched him to this place.”

“—!! What for?!”

“If I must name a reason, then it is because I thought it would be amusing.”

Subaru was aghast. Bringing an uninvited guest who proceeded to ruin a grandfather’s opportunity to reconcile with his grandson—Priscilla had created this situation for a terrifyingly cruel reason.

As Subaru gazed at Priscilla in dazed silence, she explained further.

“Yes. Such awkward and pitiful attempts to smooth over warped family bonds… There is no way I could calmly allow such an unsightly performance to continue. Accordingly, I have altered the script more to my liking. Quite a spectacle, was it not?”

“Priscillaaa!”

Her actions had been beyond vicious, and the way she casually talked about it sent Subaru flying into a rage.

Spectacle. That was what this woman had called it. Inflicting deep wounds upon the hearts of Reinhard and Wilhelm, a few short steps away from going back to being family… She’d called that a spectacle.

“Quit it, Bro. There’s nothing gained from us going toe to toe here. Princess’s personality being twisted isn’t new. Just think of it as bad luck…the stars being out of alignment.”

“If you get that, rein her in, damn it. Stars, my ass. You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

As Subaru’s blood ran hot, Al halted him with a push of his right hand. Having only one arm, he couldn’t draw his sword like that—he was making it clear that he had no intention of fighting.

Subaru clenched his teeth tight. He realized he was the only one in the room who’d forgotten himself in a fit of anger. Obviously, this went for the royal candidates, but there was no sign of Julius or Ferris being agitated by events, either.

Of course not. This was a graceful assembly of the rising stars aiming to be the next generation to carry the burden of the throne—not a single person among them wanted allies who might give in to their emotions and hurt others in a fit of rage.

“But isn’t that saying you can hurt people emotionally all you want and it’s okay…?!”

“Subaru…”

When Subaru put his nigh-unendurable anger into words, Emilia called out to him with shaking, forlorn eyes. When he noticed the sensation of his sleeve being pulled, Beatrice was there, too, holding Subaru’s hand.

Accepting the pair’s sympathy, Subaru sighed deeply with a bitter face.

“It would seem that the mongrel has ceased its baying. Today, I have come merely to make an appearance. Now that I have seen your tearful faces, I do not have any particular reason to remain.”

“Well, isn’t that fine and dandy…? You’re the only one I didn’t tell about what I was doing here. Where did you hear of it?”

Anastasia cut into Priscilla’s crowing over having raised such a great ruckus. Wariness resided in Anastasia’s pale blue-green eyes as a wry smile spread across her lips.

“And here I was sure that I hadn’t slipped up and told any child with loose lips…”

“Drop the pretenses, you sly fox. When something enters the ears of men, it is inevitable that it shall trickle forth like drops of tears. As the numbers increase, so do the openings. You are not the only one who keeps a close eye on the movements of others.”

“Heh, now that surprises me. I didn’t expect that out of Priscilla of all people.”

The sarcasm mixed with admiration made Priscilla spread out her fan as she broke into derisive laughter.

“Were I a fool who sees only what is on the surface, I would be no different from you commoners. As people competing with me for succession rights, surely you are not attempting to disappoint me with a poor performance, yes?”

“…You truly are a hard one to put a finger on.”

Exasperation was apparent in Anastasia’s voice as she sighed at Priscilla’s remark.

Subaru completely agreed with Anastasia on that point. He’d misjudged Priscilla as someone who didn’t see the other candidates as actual rivals and assumed she strictly followed her own path.

But judging from her actions on this day, Priscilla had acquired accurate intelligence, prepared countermeasures, and set her plan in motion without any disdain for detail—and so she had brought this most horrible of developments about.

“This old man, he’s Reinhard’s dad, right?”

Then after having ignored the course of the conversation to that point, one voice wedged itself in with complete disregard for the current situation.

It was Felt who had raised her voice while stabbing a fork into the daisukiyaki on her plate. While she merrily stuffed her cheeks, her mouth was marred with sauce as she glared at Priscilla.

“You were acting all chummy back at the castle before, so between that and the talk just now, I get it. It’s not like I know all about this guy’s family situation…but the old man’s relationship with you, now that’s different.”

“…Oh? And what opinion would a mere girl from the slums deign to hold about me?”

“Ain’t like this has nothin’ to do with me. The Astrea family is Reinhard’s to inherit, right? That’s my so-called lifeline, and this old man has it in the palm of his hand.”

As Felt elaborated, Reinhard stiffened his cheeks as he sat beside her. One glance at his reaction was enough to convey to Subaru and the others the enormity of this matter.

Felt was an orphan with no other backing. She had no other substantial support save that of Reinhard’s family. Over the last year, her activities had been centered upon the Astrea domain, allowing her to raise her name as a royal candidate bit by bit. But what would happen if that sure footing collapsed?

What if the control of the Astrea family and the real clout within it was actually held by Heinkel?

“Heh, so your puny head finally caught up? That’s slow even for you bunch of half-wits.”

Heinkel sneered as Felt finally grasped what he was thinking.

“That’s just how it is. The Astrea family inheritance is in my care. I don’t have any intention of handing it to Reinhard, and I never did! Not to Mr. High-and-Mighty Sword Saint who’s oh so busy for the nation! I wouldn’t dream of entrusting it to someone with such a troublesome and annoying job!”

“Big talk for a lord in name only. You bastard, do you even know what kind of state you left your lands in? You and the folks around you were all doing whatever you damn well pleased.”

When Felt growled as low as she could, Heinkel mocked her, saying, “Ooh, scary.” His provocative words and gestures only added to the disgust and disdain already suffusing the room.

Having endured far too many malignant slights, Reinhard finally lifted up his head. He was still striving to maintain a neutral expression as he looked not at his father but toward Felt.

“Lady Felt, I…”

“Reinhard.”

Reinhard was about to say something, but then he stopped. The cause was Felt thrusting her fork toward the tip of his nose. Reinhard’s eyes wavered as his liege’s action sealed his lips. Then without even a glance Reinhard’s way, Felt—

“—Shut up and put on your war face.”

Reinhard opened his eyes wide as Felt casually issued a command. But it was the change in him immediately after that shocked everyone else.

“—Yes.”

Reinhard nodded solemnly as light returned to his blue eyes. Though his own father had derided him and wrecked his moment of reconciliation with his grandfather, the pain that had clung to him was gone, at least for that single brief moment.

“…If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Stop messin’ around.”

Heinkel clicked his tongue as things once again started going awry. However, after shaking his head, a wicked smile immediately returned to his face.

“Say what you want; your sense of danger is spot-on, oh great master of Reinhard. The Astrea family is mine. And I don’t support you.”

To ensnare others and hurt them with cruel speech—with no objectives save these, Heinkel swung his words like a blade.

“No one needs me to spell out just who I support, I’m sure. You’ve worked so hard over the last year. The results are marvelous. And now I’m going to take everything you’ve built up and hand it to Lady Priscilla as a present…”

“Commoner.”

“Aah? Yes, Lady Priscilla? I’m in the middle of an important conversation here.”

“Silence.”

The tyrannical act that immediately followed made everyone gasp.

With no more warning than that one word, Priscilla flashed her fan out toward the wide-eyed Heinkel’s skull. The folded fan sliced through the air, inverting his body with incredible force and slamming him onto the floor. The impact made Heinkel’s eyes roll, rendering him unconscious in a single blow.

But Priscilla’s chastisement did not end there. She kicked up the fallen Heinkel with the tip of her shoe, then drew back her hand while he was airborne. And then she began to swing—

“Princess, your tantrum’s gone far enough. He’ll die.”

Priscilla glared at Al with her red eyes as he grasped her wrist and called for her to stop. But Al’s action was the right one. Heinkel would have died if he hadn’t stepped in.

After all, at some point, a beautiful crimson sword had found its way into Priscilla’s hand.

The gleaming blade featured an undulating pattern to it. One could tell from a single glance that it was no normal weapon. It had appeared in Priscilla’s hand in the blink of an eye and vanished just as quickly.

Seeing this, Al slowly released Priscilla’s hand.

“Sheesh, gimme a break here. You even drew the Sun Blade. It’s bad for my heart… Bnnnfh!!”

“You are most rude, Al. Whose permission did you obtain to touch my jewellike flesh? It is your business how you deal with your dearth of womanly attention and seething desire, but do not even dream of sullying me in the process.”

Slamming her freed hand into Al’s gut, Priscilla made her retainer groan in anguish. She let out a snort, gazing down upon Heinkel with cold eyes as he lay there pathetically on the floor.

The uncaring cruelty in those crimson eyes was frightening indeed.

“Though it is not my wont to grant mercy to those committing gross acts of impropriety…Al’s words do have some merit.”

“If you think that, I’d kinda prefer if you treated me a little more gently.”

“Do not say that. I am not a demon. Later, I shall grant you the reward of being permitted to lick my foot.”

“Can you stop talking like that’d actually make me happy?! You’ll cause all kinds of misunderstandings!”

Priscilla paid no attention to Al as he pleaded on bended knee. Instead, she clapped her hands together.

“Schult, carry that commoner out of here. It would be a waste to discard him just yet. Attend to his wounds.”

“Right away, Lady Priscilla!”

Appearing the moment she issued the summons was a pink-haired boy who’d apparently been waiting in the corridor. Subaru had seen this person at Priscilla’s mansion once previously; he was a boy with adorably curly, fluffy-looking hair.

The young, still growing butler raced over to Heinkel with tiny steps.

“Pardon my rudeness, Lord Heinkel.”

With those polite words, he grabbed hold of both of Heinkel’s legs and dragged him into the corridor. The method of transportation caused Heinkel some bumps here and there, but Schult faithfully performed his job without a single word of complaint.

Seeing the youth’s professionalism on display, Al prodded the eye slits of his helm as he made a passing comment.

“Our lovely boy Schult is always so lively, isn’t he? You really need to praise him more, Princess.”

“It is only natural that I should be served with all of one’s spirit. That is what I love about Schult. I shall properly reward him. Schult, too, shall be allowed to lick my foot.”

“That image is waaaay too indecent. Give him a different reward, I’m begging you.”

“Hmm. Then the honor of sleeping while snuggled up and embracing me, perhaps?”

“…Well, that much is fine, I suppose. I almost wanna trade places with him now.”

At the conclusion of that carefree exchange between master and servant, Priscilla returned her gaze to the hall once more. Among the people in the room, she turned her eyes toward Felt and the grave face she wore.

Come to think of it, those two had glared at each other like this back at the castle, too. Perhaps their compatibility was horrible by nature.

“So was the old man serious just now? He’s gonna drive me out and take back his place as lord?”

“If it was so, what would you do about it? Cry into your pillow and politely back down?”

“Ha! Don’t make me laugh. No matter what anyone says, that’s the last thing anyone’ll catch me doing. If there’s no inheritance and I get driven out of the Astrea domain, it makes things reaaal simple, doesn’t it?”

As she spoke, Felt’s face contorted into a ferocious smile as she gestured at Reinhard.

“He’ll just make that old fart hand over the inheritance. He’s pretty laid-back, but he’s a hell of a lot more reliable than that jerk. That bastard’ll be retiring in no time.”

“”

Regardless of whether it was realistic or not, it was a remarkably satisfying declaration.

Felt’s proclamation made Priscilla narrow her eyes. Then Priscilla covered her lips with her fan once more.

“There is no need to take that commoner’s words at face value. Even if rights to the domain were changed on paper, the trust of the populace would remain yours. The masses may be made up of ignorant fools, but their very foolishness means they are slow to forget a grudge. As the only value of the talentless rabble is to callously employ them as pawns, this renders them unusable.”

“…Then why’d you bring that old man with you?”

“I have already told you. I brought him for nothing more than my own amusement. In that sense, he has already proved his worth.”

With absolute faith in her own standards, Priscilla spoke without hesitation as she surveyed the room.

She was set in her ways. Surrender and serve or confront her with an iron will; there were no other options.

“”

And the four candidates who stood in opposition to her did not hesitate to assert their own will.

Receiving their gazes, Priscilla nodded with profound satisfaction.

“Very good. My victory is inevitable. Therefore, I desire that the path be as turbulent and entertaining as possible. Fan my flames, you who oppose me—those are the supporting roles you are all meant to play.”

That was Priscilla’s bold pronouncement to her four rivals one year after the royal selection had begun.

This was her judgment of the changes that had taken place over that year. This was the conclusion drawn by the crimson eyes of Priscilla Bariel, who had unshakable faith in the belief that the entire world moved for her own convenience.

“I’ll make you regret that pride.”

Felt’s abrupt declaration of war reflected the views of everyone present.

Sub-chapter 7.

—Even when things settled down, it was impossible to restore the hall’s atmosphere to what it had been before.

After Felt addressed her, Priscilla exited the reception hall with Al in tow and a satisfied look on her face. Coming from Priscilla, that amounted to delight at having achieved her goal.

Considering the damage she had inflicted upon Subaru and the others, her actions were selfish to the extreme.

In the end, the respective camps that had gathered for a meal rose up, dispersing without a single attempt to resume their pleasant chat—and without Reinhard and Wilhelm reaching a peaceful reconciliation.

“We are truly fortunate that Garfiel was not there.”

Those were Otto’s parting words as he left for the Muse Company on his own.

He certainly had a point. If Garfiel and other hotheads had been present, carnage might well have been unavoidable. Thanks to that, Heinkel had escaped with his life.

Of course, had he lost his life in the ensuing clash, the reputation of his killer and their master would have fallen to the level of dirt.

“Don’t tell me she made a mess of the place aiming for that… I’m overthinking this, right?”

The frightening mental image of Priscilla’s blazing eyes seeing through every possibility arose in his mind. He felt that if he denied it, passing everything off as nothing but coincidence, it was tantamount to accepting that her success was thanks to her good fortune.

“Cool it, you clown… In the end, I’m the only one who blew his lid.”

Looking back at the events that had unfolded in the hall, Subaru truly thought his lack of self-control was pathetic.

Even Felt had acted in a logical manner; Subaru had been the most emotional person in the room. He must have been a source of great anxiety for Emilia and Beatrice, too.

In an attempt to dispel his agitation, Subaru was walking around the inn, striving for mental calm before going on the scheduled stroll with Emilia and company.

The creaks of the wooden floor seemed to reflect the creaks he felt in his own heart. Finding them exceptionally irritating, Subaru marched with heavy steps as if it would help him understand.

“Do not take your frustrations out on the floor. It will cause problems for the inn workers.”

Subaru had been staring intently at the floor when a voice called out to him. Looking around, he spotted Julius watching him from the garden. Subaru had arrived at the edge of the garden at some point without even realizing it.

The man looked oddly picturesque as he touched a hand to his slightly unruly purple hair, which was being caressed by a refreshing breeze.

“You are not together with Lady Emilia and Lady Beatrice?”

“Well, you can see that. Neither of them is a child, and they’re both at an age where they want some private time. Even I have enough delicacy to respect that. Besides, we’re going on a date later.”

“There are several terms I have not heard before, but I believe I understand. It would seem even you can learn how to be considerate.”

“Ghhh, why you…!”

Though Subaru had been quick to pick a fight, it was Julius who had landed the first substantial blow, causing Subaru to lose his cool. But his irritation instantly dissipated when he saw Julius’s expression.

Julius’s eyelashes were quivering, somehow seeming like he was biting back remorse.

“I am sorry. If you really did lack empathy and thoughtfulness, you wouldn’t have been so distressed talking to the vice captain earlier—if anything, I should be thanking you.”

“All I did was lose my temper like an idiot while everyone else thought things through and kept their cool.”

“That is not so. It was only because of your display of anger that those around you were able to maintain their calm, nothing more. I am no exception. Your rashness served a valuable purpose.”

“You’re not really trying to praise me, though, are you?”

Subaru grimaced at the words lavished upon him.

“I get it. I need to be calmer and remember to keep my cool. That’s how a knight should act, isn’t it? I’m aware that I don’t think far ahead enough. After all, I had it marked on every report card I got in elementary school.”

“…Certainly, if it is chivalrous conduct one seeks, your actions cannot be praised. However.”

Julius abruptly broke off his words. When Subaru realized what he was doing, his eyes shot open in surprise.

“Uh, what are you doing?”

“Precisely what it looks like.”

“Well, from my end, it looks like you’re bowing to me.”

Julius had gone down on one knee, solemnly lowering his head.

This was not a knightly salute, nor a custom among nobles. He was simply acting as an individual person.

“You have my gratitude. I wanted to thank you for your righteous indignation in that setting.”

“…I don’t know what you mean.”

“If one is devoted to chivalry, one must strive to behave in a knightly fashion regardless of the circumstance… One can never act out of emotion, even if his friend is being disparaged or humiliated. But you were not bound by such things.”

His head still bowed, Julius added more words of thanks for Subaru’s recklessness.

The unexpected response made Subaru blink several times over. However, finally—

“So you’re basically thanking me for getting angry in your place—man, are you stupid or what?”

When the still-irritated Subaru vented, his words caused Julius to lift his head. Receiving the brunt of Subaru’s anger, he let his lips curl into a self-deprecating smile.

“Stupid, you say.”

“Stupid and a bad joke. Why do I have to be angry instead of you? I’m pissed at myself for the fact that I got angry. It’s not like I tried to smack that bearded face for anyone else but myself.”

Subaru was genuinely exasperated with Julius, thinking he had gotten it all wrong.

His temper tantrum was nothing as noble as the righteous indignation Julius made it out to be. Subaru knew practically nothing of the issues surrounding the Astrea family. That’s why he’d selfishly gotten upset over his own selfish assumptions, nothing more.

“If you didn’t like it, you should’ve gotten angry, too. Because it was just me, he blew me off, but if you had joined in, that dad of Reinhard’s would’ve run with his tail between his legs.”

“Figurehead or not, he is the vice captain of the Knights of the Royal Guard. It would be reprehensible to act with such rudeness toward a direct superior.”

“You’re not directly under him at the moment, and just now, you called him a figurehead, didn’t you? How inflexible can you be, man? The whole time you were dedicating yourself to chivalry, were you also putting armor around your heart, too?”

Pressing Julius into silence, Subaru folded his arms and lifted his face toward the heavens with a snort.

It was an infantile argument. Even though he was being thanked, Subaru was lashing out at Julius simply because he didn’t care for it.

“Armor over the heart, you say…? Hmph, that remark cuts quite deep.”

“For me, it sounds like a pretty cool thing to say, but don’t think too hard on it. Just the words of a fool.”

“No, I shall take them to heart. It was pleasant to think I had been saved by you, a thought I would never have even imagined a year prior.”

“Just so you know, I still have nightmares about that once in a while.”

“Hmm… Were it possible, I would like to avoid a situation where we reunite in your dreams on a nightly basis.”

“I’d also far prefer to do this and that with Emilia-tan instead! There’s no room for you in my dreams!”

With the appreciative atmosphere from before gone, Julius returned to his normal tone of voice as he ran a hand through his hair. Disgusted with himself for being relieved by the change in attitude, Subaru forcibly switched topics.

“About Beard-face back there… Seriously, the vice captain is Reinhard’s dad?”

“I suppose it isn’t surprising that you would have doubts, but it is true. That individual is indeed Heinkel Astrea, vice captain of the Knights of the Royal Guard of Lugunica.”

“What’s the reason for that? Is human resources blind, or did no one even question whether he’d be a problem?”

“The answers are all in what you overheard. Of course, there is no lack of dissenters who doubt the vice captain’s worth, both from the leadership and from within the royal guard itself. As a matter of fact, the position of vice captain was assigned for decorative purposes. Surely, there are none who have witnessed him actually engaged in his duties.”

When Julius shook his head and replied, Subaru conjured the mental image of some high-ranking bureaucrat stepping down to take a cushy job in private industry. That seemed a fitting description for Heinkel’s situation—an important, high-paying job that required little actual work.

“Don’t tell me he used his influence as the dad of the Sword Saint to land that position?”

“…That is also part of it. But the greatest reason lies not with the vice captain but with Reinhard…or perhaps it is more accurate to say the Astrea family.”

“The Astrea family… Does that include Wilhelm too?”

“Well, that man is Master Wilhelm’s son and the current head of the Astrea family. He is also Reinhard’s own father. What would happen to the kingdom if such an individual rebelled due to discourteous treatment?”

As he rattled off another explanation, Julius strove to keep his replies as emotionless as possible.

Listening to his words, Subaru sank into thought for several seconds. Then he immediately arrived at the answer.

The reason that man, Heinkel Astrea, was treated so favorably by the kingdom was—

“—If Heinkel revolts, that’d mean the family of the Sword Saint becoming an enemy of the kingdom. So he’s being treated like a big shot to maintain good relations…? In other words, the kingdom doesn’t trust Reinhard, or Wilhelm for that matter?!”

If that was the case, Subaru could only think of such treatment as a grave insult toward Reinhard and Wilhelm both. Considering the pair’s personalities, how could anyone think they might betray the kingdom?

“Your anger is justified. However, those in charge of the kingdom must consider all possibilities.”

“As if that’s even possible!! There’s no way something like that could even…!”

“…Master Wilhelm is the former captain of the Knights of the Royal Guard.”

When Julius took a step forward and spoke those words, Subaru’s breath caught, his body coming to a halt.

“Fifteen years ago, someone abducted a member of the royal family from the Royal Palace. At the time, Master Wilhelm was in charge of the search for the abducted royal as captain of the Knights of the Royal Guard.”

“So? Even I’ve heard about that kidnapping.”

A kidnapped royal—would that mean Felt? That incident was supposedly the whole justification behind her taking part in the royal selection. Why was Julius digging up that surreal story?

“I also know that the abducted kid was never found. But what of it? Does that mean Wilhelm has some sort of grudge against the kingdom because he had to take responsibility and quit the knighthood?”

“That is not so—however, the ‘Grand Expedition,’ the effort to bring down the White Whale that included the prior Sword Saint, took place during the time Master Wilhelm was absent from the capital to conduct the search.”

The words Julius spoke made Subaru’s mind go blank once more. Sliding into that blank space were words he recalled hearing from Wilhelm at some time or other.

Wilhelm had said he had been unable to be with his wife at the time of her death.

“Because of the incident, he couldn’t be there when his wife died, so he holds a grudge against the person responsible?”

“I do not know Master Wilhelm’s true intentions. However, the facts remain that the search was aborted, the Grand Expedition itself ended in failure, and Master Wilhelm resigned from the Knights of the Royal Guard. The guard surely would not have recovered if it were not for Captain Marcus exhausting every effort to do so.”

“Like I care about what happened after! I’m talking about Wilhelm here. What do you think? Does he still hold a grudge about his wife, and…?”

Did Julius suspect that Wilhelm might rebel against the kingdom?

Did he think that this person, Wilhelm van Astrea, was that kind of human being?

How could someone look at him and think that about a man so forthright about his love that he’d offered up everything for it? Couldn’t you tell from looking at his eyes, his back?

And why were the people Subaru liked exposed to such undeserved prejudice?

“Why can’t everyone understand he’s not that kind of person…?”

Demanding to know why in a choked voice, Subaru glared at Julius. Accepting his withering gaze head-on, Julius’s eyes somehow seemed envious as he looked back at Subaru.

Subaru knew. He was well aware his anger was misplaced and aimed at the wrong target.

In the end, Julius had just objectively recited the tale. In no way did Julius himself doubt Wilhelm, nor was he one of the people who doubted Wilhelm.

After all, Julius had thanked Wilhelm after the battle with the White Whale one year prior.

He’d praised Wilhelm for pursuing his greatest wish for fourteen long years.

“…Sorry. I’m an idiot.”

“No, you are not in the wrong. What you say is correct. It is I who is in the wrong—and so I shall remain, without a chance to rectify my mistake.”

Lowering their gazes, both of them closed their eyes as they wrestled with such unbearable thoughts.

The seeds of distrust about Wilhelm’s true intentions still remained. They weren’t the sort of thing that could be immediately solved with words and actions.

“…Does this go for Reinhard, too?”

“The situation is different in his case—at one time, Reinhard did whatever Master Heinkel told him to. It was not a period that could be dismissed simply by saying, well, they were father and son.”

Averting his gaze from Subaru, Julius seemed regretful as he spoke.

But without touching upon any of the details, Julius took a deep breath and continued his explanation.

“When Reinhard became independent, such behavior came to an end. However, enough happened that a concern remains within the kingdom. Namely, could such a thing not come to pass once more?”

“…So to make sure Heinkel doesn’t give Reinhard insane orders, the kingdom’s trying its damnedest to keep Heinkel in a good mood?”

“Perhaps it is something far worse. In the end, this is nothing more than rumor, but I shall convey it to you nonetheless—to you, who expressed indignation in that situation as Reinhard’s friend.”

With that worrying preamble, Julius quickly scanned their surroundings. Having confirmed no one might overhear, he turned back toward Subaru. And then—

“The vice captain is suspected of involvement with the royal-abduction incident fifteen years ago.”

“—?!”

“There is no conclusive proof. But the fact remains that I have heard suspicions surrounding a number of circumstances.”

“Is that even possible? I mean, for him to be involved in the kidnapping.”

“Whether it is true or false matters little. An individual who is suspected of such things could potentially command the kingdom’s greatest warrior any way he wishes. This is seen as problematic.”

Possessing the title of Sword Saint was a spectacular honor—however, the revelation of this situation made Subaru feel as if it was not so much an honor as a curse.

“I mean, if that’s true, then it’d be Heinkel’s fault Wilhelm wasn’t able to be there when his wife died.”

“…That is not the half of it. I have heard that at the time, it was Lord Heinkel who recommended that Lady Theresia, who had already laid down her sword and retired from active duty, participate in the Grand Expedition.”

“He threw his own mom onto the front lines against that demon beast?!”

“We have records remaining from that time. The vice captain refused to join the Grand Expedition, nominating Lady Theresia to join the battle in his stead.”

As Subaru learned more about this incident, he couldn’t help but be stunned.

Heinkel had sent his own mother to take his place on the field of battle. There, his mother had been killed in action. To protect himself against his father, who was unable to be with her upon her death, from wielding his blades in vengeance, Heinkel used his son’s talent as a shield, spending his own peaceful days in depraved indolence.

It couldn’t be. A human being actually capable of such a thing couldn’t really exist.

It wasn’t because Subaru wanted to affirm Heinkel’s humanity. He couldn’t accept the theoretical possibility that a human who was able to live so shamelessly could even exist.

“…I am sorry. I should not have spoken of such things when you were not emotionally prepared for them.”

Julius apologized in a morose voice when he noticed how Subaru was shocked and speechless.

Subaru had only been listening, and he could barely control himself. There was no way that Julius could possibly keep his composure when he had to be the one conveying it all. For someone like Julius, who constantly strove to be rational and logical, this behavior was particularly strange.

“…It’s not like this is your fault. I’m the one who made you say it.”

“It is not an attitude worthy of praise. To look at someone else’s family and speak with a mixture of rumor and prejudice is extremely insensitive; they are actions that a knight should be ashamed of.”

“But you made sure to see it through, right? Because you’re Reinhard’s friend.”

When Julius berated himself, Subaru shook his head side to side.

“I don’t know how long you’ve been his friend, but I get that you’re worried about him. That’s why it’s natural to be ticked off. I don’t think there’s one thing strange about that. I don’t think it’s right to politely back off just ’cause it’s another family’s private business, either.”

For anyone who knew Julius, suspecting him of being an inconsiderate busybody was the height of foolishness.

Subaru Natsuki knew what exactly kind of person Julius Juukulius was. What was there to gain from suspecting friendship?

“I’ve told you before, right? There’s no need to obsess with being a well-mannered knight all the time. Right, maybe you should strip off that armor and try being Juli for a while. Maybe being more flexible like that would help you do a whole bunch of things better.”

Juli was the false name Julius had employed when cooperating with hunting down the Witch Cult. Given his position, Julius couldn’t be seen joining a band of mercenaries, so he had offered the false name in a desperate attempt to hide his elegance behind his back. In the end, it was a name so useless that even Julius himself forgot to use it, but at the time, Julius had allowed himself to diverge the strict rules of knighthood.

“Juli, you say? That is quite a nostalgic name you have pulled out.”

“It’s the sort of one-and-done plot twist you forget in an instant. I’m proud of myself just for remembering it.”

“…But when you say not to be bound by chivalry, you suggest a very difficult thing. It is not as if you are unaware of what they call me.”

“That whole ‘finest knight’ thing is why you’re always so stiff, right? When you get in the bath and take all that armor off, make sure you do some extra stretching before you put it back on again.”

On the spot, Subaru proudly bent his hips and touched his palms to the ground. He meant to show off how limber he had become over the past year.

“If you intended to best me with that little display, I can only sigh at your incredibly lacking powers of observation.”

“Whoaaa?!”

After a quick remark, Julius opened his legs wide, one in front and one in back as he assumed an extreme pose in front of the triumphant Subaru. Subaru gaped at how far Julius’s long legs could stretch. Without moving anything else, he brought his hips to the ground with ease.

The detestable man easily surpassed Subaru in every possible area.

“W-well, I’m still really good at singing and playing the lyulyre!”

“I truly cannot see the significance of winning such a contest, but I am somewhat familiar with musical performance.”

“Gah! There it is! Even I know that when a guy like you acts humble, it means he’s super good at it! Ain’t no way I’m joining a band with you! You’ll steal the vocalist spot from me in no time!”

“—I see.”

As Subaru continued airing out his grievances, Julius returned his stretching legs to their proper positions and stood up. When Julius let out a short sigh, Subaru knit his brow; faced with that stare, Julius swept his own hair back, a triumphant smile coming over him as he gazed up at the sky.

“So when Juli looks up at the sky, standing in the bracing wind, this is what it feels like.”

“Wha—?”

“Now that I think about it, the sky always looked different back then. I feel like I am only just recalling that.”

“I don’t get you. You really are one smug bastard.”

Intentionally ignoring the atmosphere that had been building, Subaru sat down on the raised floor running along the garden’s edge. Only flashing a troubled smile in reply to Subaru’s insult, Julius half closed his eyes, seemingly dazzled by the rays of the sun.

A new mood had swept away the dregs of their awkward conversation.

Of course, that didn’t wipe away Subaru’s memory of what they’d discussed, and the stiffness remaining in his heart would not relent. Even so, he could be cooperative enough to not let it drag them both down.

—If anyone had been watching from a distance, they would have seen nothing but a normal pair of friends.

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Diamond. Diamond. Diamond.

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